Circus & Company

Founded in 2020 , Cirque & cAmpagnie is a traveling circus arts school based in Saint-Médard, in the Gers department of the Occitanie region . Its project was born from the desire to maintain and develop circus arts offerings in a rural area where access to artistic and cultural activities can be more difficult due to distances, transportation issues, and the dispersed population.

The creation of Cirque & cAmpagnie is part of a long-standing circus tradition in the region. In 2020, following the closure of the former Pré en Bulles school, founded in 1999, a new association was formed to continue certain projects and maintain the practice of circus arts in the Gers department. Since then, Cirque & cAmpagnie has developed its own identity, deeply rooted in community education, cultural development in rural areas, touring, and inclusion .

Today, Cirque & cAmpagnie is affiliated with the French Federation of Circus Schools (FFEC) and belongs to the FREC Midi-Pyrénées network. An FFEC license is required to participate in the school's regular circus activities.

One of the main features of Cirque & cAmpagnie is its itinerant operation. The association does not conceive of access to circus arts solely from a place to which the public must travel: it also seeks to bring activities closer to the inhabitants by intervening directly in different towns and structures in Gers and neighboring territories.

• Weekly workshops organized in Saint-Médard and Simorre .
• Interventions in other municipalities depending on the projects.
• Interventions in schools (from kindergarten to high school).
• Activities in leisure centers , youth centers and social structures .
• Projects with specialized institutions .

This mobility directly addresses the challenges of rural areas. For Cirque & cAmpagnie, accessibility is a priority: the school seeks in particular to reach children who do not necessarily have regular access to sports and artistic activities near their homes.

Workshops begin in early childhood . The 2026-2027 season in Saint-Médard offers parent-child sessions and workshops for 3-5 year olds and 4-5 year olds . Children then continue their exploration in different groups according to their age. Specific programs are also available for teenagers, adults, and seniors .

Each participant should be able to experiment at their own pace. The activities offered promote body awareness, spatial and temporal orientation, as well as imagination and creativity. Cooperation plays a vital role: the activities serve to teach participants how to exchange ideas, share, help each other, and trust one another. The concept of controlled risk-taking is integrated into the educational approach to help each individual understand their limits and gradually push their boundaries within a safe environment, without confusing risk-taking with endangerment.

The performance is not a mandatory end goal but rather a tool for building confidence, self-expression, and sharing. End-of-year shows are organized for students who choose this path. For teenagers and adults, the "Circus on Stage" workshop combines practical exercises, group work, project development, and performance creation to cultivate stage presence and self-confidence.

The association aims to develop its members' circus culture by promoting the discovery of professional shows, encounters with artists and companies, residency showings, and the exploration of aspects usually invisible to the audience (creative processes, setting up/dismantling a big top). It affirms that the circus is a living art form with its artists, its works, its creative spaces, and its professions.

Adapted circus arts are a fundamental aspect of the project. Cirque & cAmpagnie works with a wide range of audiences and develops programs in partnership with specialized organizations such as ADAPEI , IME , residential homes, and social or medico-social institutions. Projects are developed in collaboration with teachers, educators, activity leaders, and other professionals who support the participants, aligning the objectives of the partner organization with the possibilities offered by circus arts.

This inclusive approach benefits from specific teaching skills. The circus instructor mentioned by the school holds the BIAC , the BEATEP "Local Life and Social Activity" option Circus Arts and adapted circus and the BPJEPS Circus Arts .

Cirque & cAmpagnie develops projects for schools, from preschool to high school, as well as for leisure centers and other socio-educational organizations. These programs can take the form of one-off sessions, workshops, discovery classes, or longer-term projects. The association also offers circus workshops during school holidays (introductory, discovery, and advanced levels) and, depending on the project, residential stays at holiday centers.

The school has a strong commitment to health, environmental, and food issues. It has developed an artistic awareness project within the framework of the Regional Health and Environment Plan , using circus arts as a medium for collective reflection on environmental and health challenges while creating an artistic production. This approach, which has received numerous awards, exemplifies the school's view of circus as a tool for education, reflection, and social transformation.

The association team is chaired by Cyndie Koe . Jalal Mouihi is a circus animator and coordinator of the association, while Gabrielle Gastou handles the secretarial duties and is also the contact currently indicated by the FFEC.

More than six years after its creation, Cirque & cAmpagnie is a particularly committed rural and itinerant circus school . Its project addresses the challenges of access to culture in the Gers region by bringing artistic practices closer to the local population. From parent-child sessions to senior workshops, from training courses to school projects, from adapted circus to initiatives focused on health and the environment, the association uses circus arts as a tool for creation, expression, connection, confidence building, and empowerment .

• Disciplines: acrobatics , juggling , balancing , aerial disciplines and stage creation .
• Values: popular education , proximity and inclusion .